Friday, December 31, 2010

christophe-crossroads

from the darkside of country music comes christophe and his 4 song cd"crossroads",christophe kicks up dust in his song"red dirt" and does it with pure shitkicking vocals(although a bit off key at times)and music.and then he's in a not so happy go lucky relationship on the song"you're gonna drive me to drink'in',"misery road"has a great guitar selection and the song"the life of an outlaw"is by far the best song out of the 4.i myself am not a big fan of country except maybe some johnny cash and oh and now of course some christophe.you want a new spin on your country listening then crack open a brew and listen to this hardcore okie boy.definatley a 7!best songs"red dirt"and"the life of an outlaw"www.reverbnation.com/hardcoreokieboywww.myspace.com/hardcoreokieboywww.facebook.com/hardcoreokieboywww.twitter.com/hardcoreokieboy
punk rock
beth

Before the show, Hoogie had photoshoot for the COLORADO PAW PAGES magazine--he being featured for his work on DH--so I was in an extra happy mood because that meant that Hoogie would be co-hosting a VERY SPECIAL CHRISTMAS episode with me! One that would be full of tacos and cheer and goodwill and all that.

"I'm listening even as i type. The miracle of the Interweb!" - Douglas

Ben Prytherch-“DAMAGED Hearing”

Every Christmas, DAMAGED Hearing has numerous traditions. The first of which is, by adding a jingle bell sound effect in the background, you can turn any song into a Christmas song. Last year it was "Fancy" by Reba. This year? A two-fer you guys:

"I am a big supporter of both "bumping" and "grinding" -- especially around the holidays." - Matt

I'm left winded, but I'm still in good enough spirits to annoy the piss out of my audience. My Christmas gift to them? Eight different versions of "Feliz Navidad", the greatest Christmas song of all time!

I brought my guitar into the studio today, and the fact that I am by no means a good singer or guitarist doesn't stop me in the slightest from performing a (I'm pretty sure) ten-minute long version of "Feliz Navidad" that is fueled by a non-stop sipping of Sparks holiday cocktails.

The Sparks that Hoogie and I are ingesting is sending this part into lampshade-mode. Hoogz gets on the mic and starts barking everytime I ask him if he wants a taco for Christmas. Boy does he! He requests that we sing a duet of Wham's "Last Christmas". It is very heartfelt.

"I think Hoogie WANTS SOME TACOS!" - Freddy NOTLP

Jimmy Buffett-“Christmas in the Caribbean”
Hernando Hopkins and Orchestra-“Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer (Cha Cha)”
Los Del Rio-“Macarena Christmas” (When I played this, everyone in the station came inside the studio and started Macarenaing. It was mildly embarrassing.)
Big John Greer-“We Want to See Santa Do the Mambo”
Peter Rugolo Orchestra-“Jingle Bell Mambo”
Let's give back and get serious and remember the reason for the season with this slow jamz...

New Kids on the Block-“This One's For the Children”
MC Hammer-“Have You Seen Her? (Looking for Xmas Mix)”
Norwegian Recycling-“Miracles”

My other Christmas tradition? A replay of Andy B. and mine's cover of Cheech and Chong's stoner Xmas classic. We recorded it, live on the air, about five or so years ago. It was one of the first times I was on the air and people seem to love it. At least people who like weed.

Thursday, September 9, 2010

From Josh Haney:
“It has been over four years since I first started the Roky Erickson
tribute album. Those that know me well know this holds a very special
place in my heart (I Love You Roky). After some trying personal times
over the past few years I am proud to announce that the project will
finally come to fruition shortly. I will be releasing it as a free
download, complete with liner notes written by yours truly, Josh Haney.
In the mean time PLEASE go to www.rokyerickson.net and donate to the Roky Erickson Trust!!!! Or go see him on his current tour!!!!”
Special Album Cover Art By Tom Bagley

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Christophe's 2009 release "Crossroads" is something you should definitely run out and grab if you like Warren Zevon and/or Michael Hurley. Though, I should warn you not to be expecting the more obvious eccentricities of Zevon or Hurley. Also, to be sure you run out and grab the right 4 song ep, this is Christophe, formerly of Mockingbird Lane, not Christophe the French singer song writer born to Italian parents, and certainly not the Christophe who lead the Haitian revolution. The ep begins w/ "Red Dirt," a confessional sounding ballad w/ a narrator that "walks a fine line between heaven and hell." "You're Gonna Drive Me to Drinkin'" is a folk country song that describes a love affair that has soured and ends w/ the narrator announcing his exit. My personal favorite track, "Misery Road" reminds me of Nick Cave's "Murder Ballads." Yes, it reminds me of the whole album, and no, it is not a murder ballad. It's a mix of vocals and sentiment w/ the narrator lamenting, "take my advice and stay away from misery road." The final track, "The Life of an Outlaw" is the testimony of a road weary traveler who has "been called a bruiser..." How often do you hear anyone use the word "bruiser" in song? Not very, which is another good reason to check this ep out!

One more from Christophe, and one more well worth listening to. This time a 45, "Fear the Dead" B/W "If the Sun Don't Shine." The 2nd guitar on "Fear the dead" is decidedly hard rock, but w/ the same sort of outsider folk sound I mentioned in the "Crossroads" review. If you saw the sleeve randomly and knew nothing of Christophe, you might get the impression that this was a rockabilly band. Nope, not at all. The lyrical depiction of a zombie invasion peaked my curiosity enough to check YouTube for a video and happily there was one (directed by Nick Sanford) complete w/ stumbling zombies and Christophe singing from the back of a pick up truck. Very nice. "If the Sun Don't Shine" is a sweet song written to cheer a maudlin girl w/ promises of "always being here for you when your blue," and keeping w/ the spirit of a love that will defy the cosmos and natural world if need be.

Tuesday, August 3, 2010

Some artists cast such a long shadow over their genre that that it's hard for other artists to escape comparison. For outlaw country singers, it's just hard to shake Johnny Cash. Christophe is a local outlaw country singer who is not exempt.

His latest EP, "Crossroads," released last month, features four songs written with very old-school country instrumentation (think Kenny Rogers) and outlaw country lyrics about hard living, wrong choices and the like. The songs are very sparse, featuring Christophe's low voice and gently strummed acoustic guitar.

None of the four tunes are very fast, which lets Christophe put emphasis on his baritone vocals and lyrics. This works well on "Misery Road," where he sounds confident in his drawling, speak/sung delivery. His vocal performance meshes with the band perfectly, and the tune becomes a highlight.

The other tunes succeed on lesser levels; the band sounds particularly tight on "The Life of an Outlaw," although the vocal performance doesn't mesh as well as it does in "Misery Road." "You're Gonna Drive Me to Drinkin'" doesn't sound all that country, which makes Christophe's vocals stick out in a strange way. But the ode to an impending breakup has a very pretty arrangement, which saves it.

Inevitably, Christophe will remind you of Johnny Cash. You may be put off because, well, Christophe's songs aren't as indelible as Cash's. But no one can top Cash but the Man in Black himself, so put your preconceived notions of outlaw country aside and check out Christophe. Start with "Misery Road" and head on from there.

The multi-talented Christophe, formerly of Mockingbird Lane has, has launched a solo career, and “Crossroads” (2009) is his latest release. Christophe takes a large dose of Country, add some Cowpunk, and leaven it with Rock n Roll, and has come up with..well…Christophe!

“Red Dirt” is a Leonard Cohen-esque, biographical ballad set somewhere on that “fine line between heaven and hell”. The guitar reminds me a little bit of Chris Isaak. “You’re Gonna Drive me to Drinkin’ “ is in bit of a heavier country tone, with prominent percussion as Christophe relates a relationship gone bad. “Misery Road” reminds me of something that should have been on the soundtrack of Natural Born Killers. Deft guitar rides along with steady percussion to that “fork in the road” that can mean a journey down “Misery Road”. “The Life of an Outlaw” is a cowboy epic in the vein of Marty Robbins with a bit of Waylon. The sharp guitar gives a very updated, edgy touch.

For the vinyl junkies out there, Christophe has produced a fine single with “Fear the Dead” backed with “If the Don’t Shine”. Paying homage to “Night of the Living Dead”, this rollicking song will please the Horrorpunk in us all. The guitar is just awesome, and backing vocals are somewhat reminiscent of Social Distortion. Superbly packaged, this single is zombie-defying dynamite!